Leadership training fosters diversity and inclusion at Bruks Siwertell

• Sustainability initiative
• 

20 Nov 2024

Sustainability goal: social 

Bruks Siwertell Group recognizes the importance of a positive workplace culture. Part of the Group’s 2030 sustainability ambitions is to increase diversity and inclusion, along with a goal of having 30% of the company’s managerial positions filled by women by 2030. 

In line with this, throughout the first half of 2024, Bruks Siwertell rolled-out Group-wide comprehensive diversity and inclusion training, titled Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion – from a business perspective. 

The three-hour workshop is designed to challenge existing perspectives and provide practical tools to address biases, discrimination and foster inclusivity in the workplace.

Solution and results

Bruks Siwertell Group’s diversity and inclusion training was attended in person by all management teams from across Bruks Siwertell Group’s European sites, with online participation from the Group’s American operations. 

The workshop used a mixture of short films, guided discussions, and real-world testimonials to tackle key discrimination grounds, including age, sexual orientation, gender, race, disability, and religion.

Through discussions on bias and inclusion, managers explored topics like recognizing unconscious biases and distinguishing between acceptable behavior and ‘grey areas’ in the workplace. One key element of the training was to help managers reflect on how their decisions impact inclusivity and what changes they could implement immediately to create a more inclusive and diverse environment.

Participants also worked in pairs and larger groups, promoting open dialogue about personal biases, discrimination experiences, and strategies to prevent marginalization. Managers left with a clearer understanding of how awareness around diversity and inclusion contributes to overall business success, enhancing innovation, team collaboration, and workplace satisfaction.

“The immediate result of the initiative was the creation of a more enlightened leadership teams, with managers more aware of biases that they may not have previously recognized and gained insights into fostering a culture of respect and equality,” highlights Anna Halling, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Bruks Siwertell Group. “While the impact is more qualitative than quantitative, the initiative sparked critical conversations around inclusion that had previously been narrowly focused on gender representation alone.

“Each leader also received a workshop toolkit with a structured approach to facilitating further  discussions around the subject with their teams, ensuring that the lessons learned could be passed on throughout the entire organization,” Halling adds.

“This was a course of great significance,” says Linda Hagengran, Finance Manager, Bruks AB, in Arbrå, Sweden, when asked for feedback. “It is such an important subject to share knowledge about and I am proud to be part of a company and group that prioritizes and values equality, diversity and inclusion. For us in the finance department we gained many new insights.

“When I went onto share the knowledge gained from the session with my team, we realized that we have more prejudices than we care to admit. We look at things in different ways and need to be more careful about how and what we express,” notes Hagengran.

Implementing the training at a Group-wide level ensures that all managers, across every global business unit, have access to the same tools and resources to support positive change.

Monitoring and assessing sustainability milestones and achievements

Bruks Siwertell Group’s sustainability goals are assessed from an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective, with each initiative falling into one or more of these categories. This is to clarify how different initiatives impact our overall sustainability work, and how their results can be used to maximum effect. It also contributes to our commitment to transparency. All aspects of our sustainability work are designed to be educational, so that we increase our knowledge and adjust our ambitions accordingly.